FUJAKO
LANDFORM
WSDD012

Born in the burnt mountains of Portugal, between Paradise and the Gates of Hell, FUJAKO emerged from the minds of its creators, two devilish producers. The first, an insane mind in a sane body, raised in Portugal goes by the name of HHY Scumclash. The second, a sane mind in an insane body, raised in France, goes by the name Ripit.

They joined forces to create an urban music based on mostly acoustic instruments, in a hostile, yet natural, environment; A landslide of voodoo Dub evoking phantoms and bass cultist conjurations.

Jonathan Uliel Saldanha or HHY is one of the individual entities lurking in the engine room of the Porto-based SOOPA collective and the transnational MÈcanosphËre.

A multi-specter instrumentalist and producer, Jonathan is a part of numerous bands (such as F.R.I.C.S., United Scum Soundclash, Mental Liberation Ensemble), working also on various psychedelic improvisational /trashjazz projects.

HHY Scumclash brings together, the multiple aspects of his sonic and al-khimia obsessions, which can be found, in one form or another, in all of the collective projects he takes part in. He has collaborated with musicians from a wide lexicon of sonic context including Raz Mesinai, Mark Stewart, Damo Suzuki among many others.

Track Listing:

All instruments, recordings, drums & manipulations by :

Nyko Esterle a.k.a. Ripit & Jonathan Uliel Saldanha a.k.a. HHY Scumclash.

With vocals by:

Additional turntablism by DJ Urine (3)
Additional flute by Roger Atmore (7)

Mastered at angstrom-mastering.com, Brussels, Belgium by
Frederic Alstadt.

Review from HHC DIGITAL hiphop webzine:

FUJAKO
‘LANDFORM’
(WORDSOUND)
Now this is underground. On the subterranean-as-muck WordSound label (past players: fleeting Jungle Brothers member Torture (recording as
Sensational), Prince Paul, and members of New Kingdom),

it may be approaching the summer season but this dub and echo saturated outing sounds like its two producer protagonists haven’t seen even a fleeting shard of sunlight in years. Warped and twisted beats threaten to mutilate your speakers, distorted and fractured vocals flit in and out of the mix (including a cameo from one-time Fun-Da-Mental man Scalper), and just for misanthropic kicks the whole shebang’s coated in an extra layer of grime and grit a la RZA’s experimental chamber on ‘Sub Crazy9. Challenging, intriguing, and guaranteed to scare the pants off small children.

- Tom Nook

From Connexion Bizarre:

Fujako is the angst-ridden offspring of two producers - one Portuguese, one French - digging a vein of experimental hip hop laden with primal urges and savage beats. The collaboration's first opus, "Landform" (released digitally), heaps tailings high as mountains, a suitable backdrop to the refined, yet gritty, illbient ore these two have squeezed from the bowels of the earth. "Landform" is weighted with bass forged by sweat and stone, bolstered with acoustic instruments fired in devilish furnaces and articulated by voices raw from the fumes. To enter the rumbling soundscapes enclosed within this album is to journey to the desolate ends of uncharted territories, to test madness with incessant tapping and blaring foghorns, perhaps to return and perhaps not.
There is an intentionally rugged quality to Fujako's sound, an unfinished and entirely natural bent resulting from recording with mostly acoustic instruments. It suits the weathered spaces of "Landform" well, if one believes there is still a place for lo-fi sonic alchemist aesthetics in a world of all-too-often slick production and audio tricks. The release takes a defensive stance in this respect, becomes insular and imperforate, guiding the listener down a forbidding trail of rough beats and shuddering bass, windswept ghosts and lost drones, unsympathetic to the last. Vocals are enunciated, angry, refined and soulful, executed both in English and French.
Together, producers Jonathan Uliel Saldanha (a.k.a. HHY) and Nyko Esterle (a.k.a. Ripit), having purportedly sequestered themselves in a mountain studio in Portugal, engendered an unforgettable exegesis of post-hip hop norms (if such exist) and pushed the envelope for this genre with startling ferocity. Grinding bass stabs and twanging strings in minor keys seem to be their trademark, textured with sounds as understated as wooden wind chime blocks knocking together, scraping stones, or the fleeting crack of shattering glass. At times off-kilter, embracing a lazy sort of percussive chaos ("Ahjar Phantom"), at others ruminative, etching a mournful patina over bottomless bass ("Queda De Regoufe"), or over-the-top abrasive, reminding one that sheltering in a grotto during an earthquake may not be the best idea ("Preparation" and "Sulphur Goat"). With only seven tracks and one (dark ambient) remix to round things off, "Landform" is certainly a manageable dose for those curious; it won't disappoint.

-- Dutton Hauhart [8/10]